Shipping means



Nov. 9, 192s.

B. Ff LoLLls SHIPPING MEANS Filed Jan. 23, 1925 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 lil)Iii)

Cil

Patented Nov. 9, 1926.

COMPANY, OF CHCAGO, ILLINGIS; CGRPORATON OF l'LIil'OIS.

sni'rrrno athens.

Application filed January 23. 1925. Serial No. 4,159.

The present invention relates tov shipping means'.

The present invention will be described `in connection with certainsignaling mechanism which is useful for railway signaling purposes. u

Railway signaling mechanism involves the use of certain electricalrelays which operate upon relatively low voltage andwhich, therefore,require rather careful adjustment. Such adjustment lis commonly made inshops equipped for the purpose, the worlnnen who install said relays onthe railroad lines heilig required only to connect said relays incircuit. j.

lin object of the lpresent invention is to provide a constructionwhereby electrical relay devices may, after having been carefullyadjusted, be shipped to their 'destination and installed with a maximumof convenience.

A further object is to provide means for conveniently holding movableparts of electrical relay mechanism when said devices are in shipment,which holding means may be rctained'as a permanent part of saidmechanism andy which may be used repeatedly to performl its holding`functions if subsequent shipments of said relay mechanism should befound to be necessary.

Further objects will appear as the descrip'- tion proceeds.

Referring to the drawings- Figure l is a view in front elevation of arelay device, such as is used in railway signaliug mechanism;

Figure 2 is a sectional view taken along the plane indicated by thearrows 25-2 of Figure l;

Figure 3 represents a detail of construc-` tion I Figure el isa viewsimilar to that of Figure 2 but showing a slight modification; andVFigures 5 and 6 represent detalls of thel modification shown in Figure4. Y

The numeral l indicates a housinglwhich is providedwith a cover 2. Thehousing 1 provides sightopenings which ma-y be 4closed by means oftransparent closures indicated by the numerals 8--3. 'v

The cover provides` supporting means for a pair of electroniagnets{lf-ll, which electromagnets'comprise cores feand sole-V noidsCooperatively `associ'atedwith the lou-er'endsof the consce-'Gis thear'inature 7, which may be pivotally supported by the bracket 8 andwhich may have its attracted position defined and limited by theadjustable abutment 7". The armature 7 provides mounting means for aplurality of resilient contact fingers QMS), four of which are shown inthe illustrated embodiment of the present invention. Said fingers 9 9are adapted to Contact with rrelatively fixed contact members l0 l0,which are adjustably supported from the ycover 2. The contacts iO-lO beconnected in the electrical circuit to be controlled,

is noted above, electricalrelay devices as commonly used require arelatively tine adjustment and should be quite' accurate `in theirperformance. Forthisreason, great care should be taken in the mountingof the armature 7 andthe resilientcont-acts 9449 carried thereby. lt isnot ordinarily practicable to entrust 'this fine adjustment to theworkmen in the field, for which reason such adjustment is performed inshops equipped for the purpose, the relays being shipped with Vtheir.moving parts securely held against vibration. Said relays are commonlysealed to prevent access to the interior thereof by workmen who areinstalling same in service or by other unauthorized persons.l

It has been common practice heretofore to surface. When the expedientreferred to iSd employed, such holding screwv will be turned down topermit free action of the armature.

It has not been good practice to entirely re'- l Tcl, SSGNOR TO THF.RAILROAD S'UPLY- moval thereof would leave an opening inthe .housing 1through which dirt could enter'.

which thecuter end. 0f 4Said, holiling` screw would not interfere withthe proper functioning of the legs 11-11. This practice is open to theobjection that when it is necessary to again ship the relay device forinspection and possible .readjustinen said holding screw, having had itslower end out oil", is useless for again holding the relay armature inits home position.

According toV the present invention, an improved holding means isprovided involving a member which may be held either in operativeposition for armature lholding functions, or held in a position entirelyfree of said armature. 1n neither of said positions will said screwinterfere with the functioning of the legs 11-11. Y

Referring now to the armature holding means shown in Figures 1, 2 and 3,the base of the housing 1 is provided with an upstanding boss 12, whichboss may have cured thereto the bushing 13, which pro vides holdingmeans for a nut 14 located adjacent to the top of said boss 12. Said nut14 receives the screifv-threaded pin 15, the upper end of which maycontact with the underside of the armature 7. The lower end of saidscrew-threaded pin 15' may be provided with a slotV 1G for the receptionAof a screw driver.

The numeral 17 indicates a locking member of special configuration. Saidlocking member 17 has a screw-threaded portion 18 adapted to receive thescrew-threaded pin 15 and an elongated shell portion .19, which at itslower end is provided with a head portion Q0 which may be conveniently1gripper. with al pair of pliers. Th e sleeve portion 19 of the lockingmember 17 may have an internal diameter greater than the diameter of thescrew-threaded pin 15, whereby a screw driver may readily be insertedwithin said sleeve portion 19 for the purpose of turning thescrew-threaded pin 15.

The screw-threaded pin 15 should be of such a length that in itsarmature freeing position the lower end of said screw will lie above theplane marking the lower extremities of the legs 11-11, whereby saidscrew when in its retracted or armature freeing position will notinterfere with the func tioning of said legs 1 1-11. The nut 14 will bepositioned to hold the screw 15 through out its range of movement andwill be displaced inwardly of housing 1 a sufficient distance from thelower end ofV screw 15 when said screw 15 is in armature holdingposition) to permit the engagement of the vlower portion of member 15 bythe screwthreaded portionlS of the locking member 17.

The mode of operation yof theabove described embodiment of the presentinvention will be clear without detailed explanation. It will be sucientto state that after the armature 7 has been adjusted in the Leos-,73e

shop, the screw 15 will be turned up in the nut 14 to an extentnecessary to hold said armature 7 in its attracted position, wherebyvibration of said armature during shipment is prevented. When said screw15 is in the position referred to, the locking member 17 may be turnedup on the lower end of screw 15 into contact with the nut 14, wherebysaid screw 15 will be securely locked against turning movement.

The lower portion of the head 2O of the locking member 17 will at alltimes lie above the lplane marking the lower extremities of the legs1111. Vhen the relay device has reached its destination and is to be inservice, a workman need only loosen the locking member 17 by rotatingthe same, after which said workman may turn down 4the screw 15 to aposition in which it will not interfere with the propel' operation ofarmature 7. By reason of the fact that the nut 14 lies at a levelconsiderably higher than the plane marking the bases of the legs 11-11,said screw 15 is allowed a considerable range of movement before thelower end of said screw reaches the plane marking the bases of said legs11-11.

When the screw 15 has been turned down a sufficient distance the lockingmember 17 may again be rotated to lock the screw 15 in 1y its re ractedposition. By reason o f the present invention, the screw 15 may beretained in the nut 14 at all times, whereby ingress of foreign matterinto the relay mechanism, is prevented. Moreover, said screw 15 will besecurely locked at all times, and even when in its retracted positionwill not project below the plane marking the bases of legs 11-11, sothat the screw will not interfere at any time with the properfunctioning of said legs.

lhen it is found necessary to again ship the relay mechanism, said screw15 may readily be turned up to its armature holding position aftercommunicating a slight turning movement to the locking member 17 torelease same. It will be clear, therefore, that the present inventionprovides a construction in which the screw 15 will perform the functionsof holding the armature 7 in immovable condition' during shipment, willform a closure for the housing 1 at all times, and will obviatethe-necessity for any mutilation of said screw when said screw is irnon-holding position.

Referring now to the modification illustrated in Figures 4 to @the boss12 within the housing 1 is provided with the bushing or nut 21, saidbushing or nut being moldedV or otherwise secured within said boss 12.Said bushing 9.1 is preferably provided. with the screw-threaded*hole-22at its upper extremity, which screw-threaded hole receives the holdingpin 23.

-Said pin 23 is screw-threaded et its upper rie Cil

extremity as indicated by' the numeral 2l,-

which screw-threaded portionis adapted to have engagement with thescrew-threaded hole 25 located -near the swinging edge oll the armature7 and is also adapted tohave engagement .with the nut or bushing 21 toprevent ingress ot dirt. The pin 23 has a head 26 at its lowerextremity, which head has the slot 27 for receiving a screw driver orsimilar tool. Between the screw-threaded portion 24 and the head 26, thepin 23 has a reduced shank which can slide through the screw-threadedhole 22. The lower eX- tremitf. of the bushing 21 is internallyscrew-threaded as indicated by the numeral 28, which screw-threadedportion is adapted to have engagement with the screw-threaded portion 29of the bushing 30. Said bushing 30 at its lower extremity is providedwith the lmurled head 31. At its upper extremity said bushing 30 issplit longitudinallyl to Said bushing provide prongs 32-32 30,therefore, comprisesV a split sleeve. rlhe bushing 21 is taperedinternally nea-r its upper extremity, as indicated by the numeral. 33`which tapered portion is adapted toreceive the prongs 32-32 of the splitbushing 30.

The embodiment of the present invention illustrated in Figures 4;, 5 and6 has the advantage that the armature 7 and its asso-y ciated contactmembers can be held in any desired position within the range of movementof said armature 7 and said members. rl`his advantage is important, forthe reason that many railroads specify that in shipment the relayarmature shall be positively held out of engaging position at both endsof the range of movement of said armature. According to thestructurefshownin Figures i to 7, the screw-threaded portion 2li may bereadily screwed into the armature 7, the reduced shank portion of thepin 23 permitting the free rotation of said pin relative to the bushing21. At this time, of course, the bushing 30 will be turned back asuflicient distance from the tapered portion 33 of the bushing 21 topermit such free rotation ot the pin 23. After the pin 24 has beensecured to the armature 7 said arma-V ture may be held, by means of ascrew driver or other implement, in its preferred position in the rangeof movement of said armature, after which the knurledhead 31 of thebushing 3() may be turned up to a position wherein the prongs 32-32 havewedging engagement between the tapered portion 33 ot the bushing 21 andthe shank of the pin 23, whereby said pin 23 and consequently thearmature 7 will be held securely against movement relative to theremainder of the relay mechanism. The pin 23 will be of such a lengththat when in its uppermost position it will hold the armature 7 in closeproximity' to the stops 7-7. Due to thefelong'ated bushing4 21, the pin23 may bel lowered to the' lowest position required without having thelower end of said pin project below the base linel 11-11 of theinstrun'ient. rlhe shank of the pin 23 between the head 26 andthescrew-threaded portion 2Lithereof will be of substantially uniformdiameter, whereby only a. very slight movement of sleeve 30 is requiredto free the pin 23 for axial movement or to grip said piu.

rllhough a preferred embodiment of the present invention has beendescribed in detail, it will'be clear that many modilications will occurto those skilled in the art. intended to cover all such modificationsthat fall within the scope of the appended claims.

l/Vhat is claimed' is:

1. ln relay mechanism, in combination, a movable member, a housing forsaid member, means for recurely holding said member in immovablepositionA for shipping purposes, said means including a pin adapted tobe immovably supported by said housing,

sai-d pin and housing being provided with a. holding member for lockingsaid pin in adjusted positions axially of said pin, said holding memberhaving its holding portion placed midway of the range of travel of saidpin, said pin being of such a length that when said pin is in a positiontohold id movable member in an immovable position the opposite end ofsaid pin will be adjacent to said Aholding portion and when said pm 1sin a position to free said movable member said opposite end-willliewithin the boundaries ot' said housing` and the other end of said pinwill be adjacent to said holding portion, said holding member beingprovided with a portion projecting` to a position at which same may beconveniently manipulated. i

2. In a relay device, in combination, a housing, said housing` having`supporting legs adapted'to rest upon a flatsurface, a movable memberWithin said housing, 'a boss within said housing, which boss providescommunication from the exterior of said housing to the interiorthereof,a pin mounted within said boss and adapted to engage said movable memberto hold said movable member immovable, said pin beingot such length thatwhen retracted to permit free movement of said movable lmember it willlie within the plane bounded by the bases of said legs, and a holdingmember for locking said pin, said holding member including an elongatedsleeve portion exten-ding into said housing and permitting access to theend of said pin.

3. In a relay mechanism, in combination, a movable member, a housing forsaid movable member, and means for holding immovable said movable member`for shipping lt is purposes, said means including a screwthreaded pinfor engaging said movable member, a nut for holding said screw-threadedpin, a boss carried by said housing interiorly thereof, said nut beinglocated at the. in-

ing said pin, said sleeve portion being oi a length to extend from saidpin to the evterior of said housing member, the pin engaging portion ofsaid sleeve member being` located midway of the range oi' travel oi'said pin. Y

5. In a relay mechanism, in combination, a movable member, a housing forsaid m vable member and means for holding immovable said movable memberor shipping purposes, said means including a pin having screw-threadedengagement With said movable member, a boss carried by said housinginteriorly thereof, and a sleeve member in said boss having a portionfor engaging said pin, said sleeve portion being of a length to extendfrom said pin to the exterior of said housing member, the pin engagingportion of said sleeve member being located midway oi the range oftravel of said pin, said boss being provided with a nut for holding saidscrew-threaded pin in a predetermined position.

6. In relay mechanism, in Combination, a movable member, a housing forsaid member, and means :for securely holding said member in immovableposition 'for shipping purposes, said means including pin adapted Ito beimmovably supported bysaid housing, said pin and housing being providedWith a holding member for locking said pin in adjusted aositions axiallyof said pin, said holding mei aber having its holding portion placedmidway of the range of travel of said pin.

7. In a relay device, in combination, a housing, said housing havingsupporting legs adapted to rest upon a flat surface, a movable memberWithin said housing, a pin mounted Within said boss and adapted toengage said movable member to hold sai-d movable member immovable, saidpin being of such length that when retracted to perr't free movement ofsaid movable member it ivill lic Within the plane bounded by the bas-esof said legs, and a holding member for locking said pin, said holdingmember including an Aelongated sleeve portion extending into said bossand permitting access to the end of said pin.

8. In a relay mechanism, in combination, a movable member, a housing forsaid movable member, a pin i'or holding said movable member in apredetermined position, and a holding member Vfor said pin havingscrew-threaded engagement with said housing and adapted to have lool-Ingengagement With said housing and said pin.

Signed at Chicago, Illinois, this Qth day of January, 1925.

BENJAMIN F. LOLLIS.

